Pearlshipping: A Story of A New Beginning
by Relyk590
Summary: What happens when you give up on the dream you have had since you young? For Ash he goes to the one person he loves, Dawn. Can Dawn help Ash regain his love of traveling? Full of Pearlshipping. Has original characters in it. Please Read and Review, also if you like it, favorite it. Enjoy!
1. The End

"_That's it." _I thought _"I am tired of this. I can't stand it."_

I ran out of the Pokecenter with Pikachu close behind. I was tired of the traveling with them. Cilan and Iris were chasing me and trying to get me to come back. I bolted into the woods and became lost in their beauty. When I was sure that they were gone, I hopped out of the tree I was in, and headed to the next town, Undella Town.

Ever since they had started dating, they could not stop talking about each other. I was done with being the third wheel. I guess that's how Brock always felt about Dawn and I, May and Misty. Ugh… I shuddered at that last name. How did I survive a whole year with her? There was too much arguing and fighting, with her.

Up ahead was Undella Town, the seaside paradise. I knew that Cynthia had a cottage in Undella Town, so I could stay there for a little bit. What I needed to do was settle down. I had beaten the Pokémon Champion in almost every region I had visited. The only champion I was unable to beat was Cynthia.

I arrived at Cynthia's at about 5 o'clock and Jervis let me in.

"Where are Cilan and Iris?" he asked.

"I'm not traveling with them anymore. I have decided to end my journey."

"Why is that, Ash?"

"I've beaten every champion except for Cynthia, which reminds me, where is she?"

"She went back to the Sinnoh region for a little trip. Why do you ask?"

"I want to challenge her one last time."

"Well I believe that she is stopping in Veilstone City for a couple of days."

"Thank you Jervis. Is it fine if I stayed here for the night?"

"Of course it is, Ash."

"Thanks."

I headed up the stairs to the guest room, but then I remembered something. The Grand Festival! How could I be so stupid? The Grand Festival was coming up and I have yet to send Dawn my best wishes. Then I thought of something better. When I got up to my room I hopped on the video phone and called my mom.

"Hey, sweetie!" She said enthusiastically.

"Hi mom," I replied.

"What's the matter honey?"

"I'm finishing my journey."

"What? I thought that you wouldn't stop until you became the world champion."

"I'm just so tired of traveling. I'm going to face Cynthia when I head back to Sinnoh."

"Oh. Well I am rooting for you!"

"Also mom, I am going to go see Dawn again."

"Awwwww, that's so sweet."

Instantly, my face went red. How had mom known? I had to make sure she didn't think that I liked Dawn. I loved her, but, I wanted to surprise her.

"Mom it's not like that. I just want to surprise her for the Grand Festival."

"Oh. Well I promise that I won't tell."

"Thanks mom. I think I'll go to bed now."

"Goodnight, honey."

"Goodnight, mom."

As I shut off the monitor I turned to see Pikachu sitting on the bed. He looked confused and concerned.

"I'm sorry buddy; I just can't handle the traveling anymore.'

"Pika?" he said.

When I got into the bed I could only think of Dawn. Her blue hair and sapphire eyes were gorgeous, and her personality was perfect! I stayed up most of the night thinking about her. I kept thinking about all of the adventures we went on and how I couldn't wait to see her.

The last memory that went through my mind was when I almost lost Dawn. That tragic moment when Dawn slipped into the Reverse World was probably the worst memory that I could think of. I was really scared for Dawn and it was terrible for me as well. Getting drowsy, I drifted off into a soft sleep.


	2. The Confrontation

When I awoke, I headed downstairs to get something to eat, before travelling to Veilstone city. Jervis was already up and made me some delicious pancakes. After I finished my breakfast, I was about to head out the door, when Jervis stopped me.

"Listen, Ash," he started, "I just wanted to give you this as a good luck charm."

He handed me a pin. I looked at it to see that it was a pokéball.

"Thanks Jervis," I replied.

"Good luck on your battle with Cynthia!"

I headed out the door, and went to the airport, in Undella Town. There was one plane heading to Sinnoh. It was going directly to Solaceon Town. As I boarded the plane I felt a familiar presence. That's when out of nowhere came Meloetta. She was sitting on my lap and she seemed content. I could only think of Piplup and Oshawott fighting over her. I laughed at the thought, and then sat quietly as the plane took me towards my destination. Through the window, I saw Lake Valor and the festivities, as the Grand Festival would be starting in a couple of days.

Once we landed in Solaceon Town, I went into the Pokémon Center, to use one of the video phones. I quickly called Mrs. Berlitz and asked her if Dawn was home.

"No, I'm sorry Ash, she left for Lake Valor yesterday."

"Good! But do not tell her that I'm in Sinnoh. I want to surprise her."

"Ok honey. I am glad to see that you did not forget about Dawn's biggest dream."

"Ok. Bye Mrs. Berlitz."

I left the Pokémon Center and headed to Veilstone. I had changed into my black vest with the bright yellow stripe, and into my hat that Mrs. Berlitz gave me. I felt that it would help, when I went to see Dawn. As I walked to Veilstone, I thought of the upcoming battle. I knew that Cynthia would not be an easy opponent. I only knew half of her team, but I needed to make sure that my team was perfect.

I entered Veilstone around 12 o'clock. Ugghh… I'm soooo hungry. I walked over to the Veilstone Department Store , to grab a quick bite to eat. With a full stomach, I walked to the pokémon center. I stored all my pokémon except for Pikachu and thought of the pokémon that I knew Cynthia had. Garchomp, Glaceon and Gastrodon were the only ones I knew about. I decided to bring out my Charizard, Glalie, Torterra, Buizel, and Staraptor.

After I was done changing my team, I went to find Cynthia. As I had expected, she was watching a gym battle while eating a bearticone. I sat down next to her and started a conversation.

"Hello Cynthia."

"It is nice to see you Ash." She replied, "What are you in Sinnoh for?'

"I'd like to challenge you to my final battle."

"Well, that is quite interesting Ash. Why would it be your last battle?"

"Because I am tired of adventuring. I can't stand Cilan and Iris anymore."

"Well I have a proposition for you. Would you like to hear?"

"Sure. What are you proposing?"

"Well, you know that the Grand Festival is in two days. I was thinking that we could battle after the Grand Festival is over."

"What!?"


	3. The Appeal Round

DAWN POV

"_Ugh…" _I thought to myself, "_It is so unlike him to do this."_

I quickly turned on the video phone.

"Hi mom!" I said.

"Hello sweetie!" My mom replied, "Are you ready?"

"Kind of, I'm worried. Ash hasn't sent me anything, has he?"

"Not that I have seen. Don't worry, I don't think Ash is one to forget something like this."

"I hope you're right."

"The appeal round will start in three minutes," Said the announcer over the PA.

"I have to go mom. Please tell me if you receive anything from Ash."

"Ok, I will make sure to tell you if I hear from him. Good luck in the appeal round."

"Thanks, mom."

I turned off the phone and walked into the opening to the stage.

"First to appeal is Dawn Berlitz!"

I walked out on to the platform to start my routine. I had done a complete re-do of my routine. There was only one thing that never would change. When I went to send out Piplup, I felt a familiar presence.

"Alright Piplup Spotlight!"

Piplup came out of its pokéball with grace and beauty. It landed softly on the ground and I started my routine.

"Piplup, use bubblebeam and then freeze the bubbles with ice beam!"

*Executed flawlessly*

"Now Piplup, use Drill Peck and destroy all the ice bubbles!"

Piplup ran through the bubbles destroying all of them, to let out a nice sparkle that settles on the stage.

"Piplup, it's time for the finale! Use bubblebeam while spinning and then use a spinning drill peck to finish this appeal with style!"

As I watched the final bubble burst, I thought of Ash. He was the inspiration behind that move. I always keep it in my routine to remind myself why I am the great coordinator that I am. Then I look up to the judges to see if I can continue to the next round.

"For me it is a yes," Mr. Contesta said with great enthusiasm.

"Remarkable!" Mr Sukizo said in his one word catch-phrase.

"I agree that it was quite a beautiful display. It is a yes," Said Nurse Joy.

That was great news. That meant I would be continuing to round two. That was when I felt it again. There was a familiar presence. I quickly scanned the audience but I did not see any familiar faces.

Piplup and I walked off of the stage, and went down the tunnel. Up next was Kenny. I gave him a warm smile and kept walking. When I returned to my dress room there was something on the table.

"To: Dawn," It said.

I opened the box and inside I saw a pearl necklace that would match with the dress I would wear to the second round. The note was unsigned but it did say, "Great Job in the first round!"

I got dressed in my normal blouse and skirt with pink scarf. I put the necklace next to the pink dress with the ribbons on the neckline. I could not wait until day two!

I went back to my room at the Pokémon center and decided to take a rest. I fell asleep wondering what round two would hold.


	4. The Battle Round: May

I sat in my dressing room. I had just put on my dress and new necklace prepping for round two. I was trying to figure out what Pokémon combination I would use. I thought of all of the great combinations I had used in the past. This time I would have to be the best.

I decided on using Quilava and Pachirisu. I could create some very beautiful and powerful attacks with their movesets.

I walked out of the room and saw a figure running down the hall. I didn't take much notice of it and walked out to see who my first battle would be. I walked out onto the stage and the crowd was cheering extremely loud.

That's when I felt my heart ache again. What was making me feel like this? I looked into the crowd again, no one familiar. _Well… _ I shrugged it off and looked at all the other contestants: Zoey, Kenny, Nando, Ursula and May were all there.

"And now, the computer will randomly select the first round battles." The contest m.c. announced.

"First, Dawn vs. May!" The announcer said

_What? _I was shocked. I looked to May, she had the same expression on her face. I zoned out, I didn't want to listen to the rest of the battles. I was way too worried about my battle with May.

The other coordinators walked off-stage; I was left standing with May. We met in the center, smiled and shook hands. We parted, heading to our respective sides of the arena. _Showtime._

"Pachirisu, Quilava, spotlight!" I said with a nice twirl.

"Beautifly, Wartortle come on out!" May exclaimed.

"Let the battle between May and Dawn begin!" The crowd went wild, and the clock began its countdown.

I wanted the opening move. "Quilava, use Flame Wheel! Pachirisu use spark on the flame wheel!"

The flame wheel had treads of electricity from spark, striking home on Wartortle. The left over fire made a cone of flame shooting out from behind Wartortle. May's score dropped to about three quarters.

"Not gonna get me that easy! Wartortle, use bubble! Beautifly, use silver wind to power it up!"

"Quilava, use flamethrower to block it!"

Most of the bubbles dissipated from the heat, but the first ones landed from bad timing. My score dropped to a little bit more than May's was.

"Wartortle use bubble again on Quilava!"

_Crap. _The turnaround time for her attacks was next to nothing._ How am I going to block this?_

If I let this hit, I would be strained to recover. Clock chimed, 2:00 remaining.

"Quilava, use flame wheel on your side! Pachirisu, hold on to Quilava and use discharge!" If this worked, it would stop bubble and maybe hit May's pokemon. Failure would render Pachirisu unable to battle from burns and a wall impact. This would be the make or break moment for me to go on, because time was racing by. The clock hit 1:30 left. The audience grew hush.

The scene of my last-second plan unfolded in front of me. Discharge was artillerized by the motion of flame wheel, arcing everywhere. One particular arc group leaped from bubble to bubble, and went tangential to zap Beautifly.

_IT WORKED!_ I wanted to jump for joy. My excitement was short lived, there was still time left for her to counter.

May's score dropped by a large margin, I looked over to May.

"I will never give up! Wartortle use rapid spin and Beautifly use silver wind to ramp Wartortle's speed up!" My Pokémon were unable to avoid it. I bit my lip, I didn't want to lose, but I was preparing for the worse.

The attack plowed into Pachirisu, sending him flying. _No…._

BBBBBBBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRR. The buzzer went off. Any damage after wouldn't count against my score.

"That's all folks! Now to see who won after that buzzer blaster!" the M.C. blared.

My score was slowly draining away. My heart was sinking. Then it stopped.

I had won.

"The winner, of the first round battle isssssss DAWN!" The crowd stood up and applauded.

I walked to the middle of the arena and shook hands with May.

"Wow Dawn that was a spectacular battle, you really gave me a run there. You're good!"

I blushed a tiny bit, I thought she would be sore from losing, and here she was complimenting me. "Thanks May! You were really good to!" I was about to walk away, but then I remembered. "Hey May, have you heard anything from Ash lately?"

"No, I haven't, sorry! I'm sure he has a good reason to not send you anything."

I was a little happy but sad at the same time. "Ok. Well I'll see you later; I want to battle you again!"

"Bye Dawn! I'll bring it harder next time! Oh, I like your necklace by the way, it suits you!"

"Thanks!" I walked off-stage and to my dressing room. _At least he isn't talking to other girls he's traveled with before…___Where did that come from?

Why was this bothering me so much? I know I had feelings for him in the past, but, this isn't like me.

I went back to the Pokémon center, dropped off Quilava and Pachirisu. _They deserve it after today._ "Thanks for an awesome win today guys!" I went up to my room, changed and flopped onto my bed. I sat in bed thinking about the contest; it was too close that time. Why was I so off? My thoughts came to Ash. Why hadn't he called? It wasn't like him to forget. _Yeah, he's dense but he's not __**that **__dense._


	5. The Battle Round: Nando

**Ash's POV**

_Wow, that battle was Dawn was wearing the necklace that I gave her._ I left the contest arena early so wouldn't have the chance of being seen by Dawn.

Back at the Pokémon center, I just hung out until bedtime. All that night, the only thing that went through my head before dozing off was Dawn's contest._ I can't believe that she still uses the move that was made because of me_. She had definitely gotten better at creating move combinations. That last attack with Flame Wheel and Discharge was awesome. I did kind of feel bad for May though. She did gotten knocked out in the second round. _Eh, she'll bounce back from it. _

That night I dreamt of my battle with Cynthia. Well, not the battle, mostly about how surprised Dawn would be and to see her in that cheerleading outfit she wears during my major battles. _Yeah, the outfit._

I drooled a bit from that dream, which woke me up. I decided to give Dawn another present.._._I made a quick card that congratulated her on her win. _I hope she likes it._ I didn't sign it; I wanted to remain in the shadows for a while longer. I felt a little bad because she did not know that I was here and she had not gotten anything from me. _Wonder if she'll be mad… Nah, only two more days before she would know that I was here_,_ she shouldn't be._

Tomorrow she would hopefully win the next battle and then two more battles the day after. Then, as she would finish that battle she would hear the announcement of Cynthia battling me after the final battle of the Grand Festival and happy reunion between us.

I woke up later, leaving myself a few minutes to haul over to the arena. _Better safe late than seen early._ The ticket counter told me where my seat was and I walked into the arena. I didn't like my seat so I moved, seating myself in the perfect position to see the battle. I always brought a good amount of food into the arena so I wouldn't get hungry. _That and I missed breakfast…_

"And now, for the 3rd round battle placing! Please turn your attention to the screen!"

I looked up to see if Dawn would be going first in this round.

"First up is Dawn versus Nando!"

_Oh, well then… _ I remember how hard Nando was to beat last time he battled Dawn. _I hope Dawn has a good strategy._

Thankfully, I didn't need to be worried. Dawn sent out Mamoswine and Quilava. I knew exactly how she was going to counter Nando's Roserade and Lopunny. Dawn would use her Quadruple Combination. _That dress, almost as good as the outfit… Gah no time to drool, must watch!_

First, after a bit of sparring between Roserade and Mamoswine, Dawn had Quilava and Mamoswine do a Swift/ Ice Shard combination. Nando replied with a powerful Magical Leaf-Focus Blast combination. Dawn countered it with a blazing Flame Wheel and started the Quadruple Combination.

First, Mamoswine ate his Ice Shard to grow spike-cicles from his fur while Quilava used Swift to create a ring around Mamoswine. In all of this Nando's guage was dropping slowly. The endgame of the quadruple came, Quilava used Flamethrower on Mamoswine while plowed foreward on Take Down. _The beauty of fire and ice. So awesome._

The attack hit Roserade as it was trying to get out of the way. Nando's point guage dropped to zero at the 45 second mark.

"The winner of round three's first battle IIISSSSSS DAWN!"

_Congrats Dawn. _I smiled, looked at her and left the arena.

Pikachu and Meloetta followed me closely, briskly walking away from the building before I could be seen. I stopped by the flower shop and picked up a half a dozen roses. I meant it a little as a joke, but it was more sincere than a joke. I wrote my congrats on the card and put the flowers by her room door.

For the rest of the day, I went out into the woods and trained with my team. We were all pumped from Dawn winning, everyone was going hard._ As long as she wins, I will in my last._ My last. There's a thought. It was finally happening. The sun fell behind the trees, casting a golden glow, telling me to be on my way home. I went back to the Pokecenter, careful not to be seen by Dawn, and went to bed.


	6. The Battle Round: Ursula

Today was the day. Dawn would find out that I was in Sinnoh. I would go see her after her two battles today. _Think she's gonna be pissed? Nah... Least I hope not…._ I hadn't called or sent anything for some time. _You know, she probably will be…_

I went to the stadium for the Grand Festival, round two today battle today. I took my seat, wondering who Dawn was going to be up against.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?"

Cynthia was sitting there.

_WHHHAA-SWEET BABY ARCEUS! HOW?! _Needless to say, I was kind of surprised. It took me a minute to get over that.

"I'm not quite sure."

We paused, no idea why. She was staring off into the distance.

The contestants were entering the field when she spoke finally. "It seems as Dawn has gotten pretty good. " _ Finally, something to work with._

"Yeah, she really has. I also know that she will be happy to see me. But, she might not be very happy at first."

"So, you didn't tell her you were coming?"

"I didn't even know I was coming until three or so days ago. But, yes."

"You are dense aren't you?" she replied with a sheepish grin.

"HEY! I-"

She cut me off; the computer selected the first contestants.

It was Dawn vs. Ursula. _Alright Dawn, you got this!_

At that moment, Dawn sent out Pachirisu and Piplup. Coinciding with Dawn, Ursula called Flareon and Vaporeon to the stage. I went back to the contest where Ursula gave her two eevees the fire and water stones. _ They sure have come a long way from then, wow._

I knew that Dawn would be able to easily beat Ursula with just a few small moves. Dawn opened with the round with a fierce bubblebeam from Piplup. She had Pachirisu attack some of the bubbles with discharge, not only did this attack hurt Vaporeon and Flareon but it also gave Dawn a nice boost because of the beauty and finesse of the combo.

Ursula went the oddball route, countering with something a bit… well… odd. She had Flareon use Fire Spin while Vaporeon hit Flareon towards Pachirisu and Piplup with a strong Iron Tail._ Fiery ping-pong? Ok then…_

The scoreboard showed in favor of Dawn still. _No way she can lose!_

"Ash, stop drooling."

" PIIIKKKAAAA!" I had gotten some on Pikachu. He looked like he was going to shock me. _NO! PLEASE! I'M NOT HERE! _He must have known, because he looked at with that "soon…" face.

With about three minutes left on the clock the score was pretty even, with Dawn just a few points ahead of Ursula. Dawn was about to put herself out of range of Ursula, in prime position to finish this. Dawn had the pair use the Bubbling Sweet Kiss technique. I had watched her perfect this move when I was with her before. The beauty that had once been a cute attack grew to an attack that was absolutely dazzling and unforgettable. This gave Dawn a much larger lead on Ursula.

Ursula attempted a recovery by having Vaporeon use Hidden Power to rev up Flareon's scary face to make the attack more interesting. This hit Pachirisu and Piplup but did not do much in the way of points. With only a minute left Dawn was far in the lead and there was nothing that Ursula could do._ She looks pissed._

Dawn had one last move planned for the battle, it was in her eyes. She had Piplup use Whirlpool and Pachirisu use Discharge while inside the Whirlpool. This ended the battle with a beautiful splash and with Dawn coming out on top in a splash of electricity, sparkles and a rainbow.

I had been so intent on watching the battle that I hadn't noticed that Cynthia left._ Food? Yeah, probably._ I assumed it was to go get more to eat. She had about the same love for food I did. Then I turned my attention towards the stage.

" Wow! That was a great battle and display of beauty! Wrapping up the Quarterfinal round, the remaining coordinators are: Dawn! Zoey! Kenny! and Jordan!"

I was about to get up to get something for lunch when the announcer started talking again. I Froze.

"Also we have a special announcement from the World Champion Cynthia!"

_What!?_ MY heart went up into my throat, and almost out my mouth. _No no no no no no_._NO! _ She was going to announce our battle. This was going to get me killed._ Or worse… no more cheerleading outfit…_ reality then slapped me hard.

"Hello fans of Pokémon contests and battles! I have a special announcement just for you! After the Ribbon Cup is presented you will be treated to a special battle!"

I was frozen in fear. I didn't know why, but, I was scared. I would have to face Dawn's ridicule and scolding. I just wanted to hide.

"After the presentation of the Ribbon Cup, I will be battling a young, but highly skilled trainer and friend: Ash Ketchum."

Then Pikachu lit me up like a Christmas tree, so everyone knew who I was._ Thanks buddy._

I saw Dawn's expression and I knew it would be my end. I was going to see her whether I wanted to or not. And it would not be a fun time.


	7. Close Call and Even Closer Confrontation

Dawn' POV

"…Ash Ketchum!" Cynthia announced over the mic.

At first, I was surprised. _He's here?!_ Then, my shock turned to anger._ Why didn't he tell me? Why didn't he call?_ I wanted to walk out to him and punch him in the face, because a slap wouldn't affect someone so DENSE. _Where is he though?_ I was kind of elated that he was here, getting to see and great friend again.

Then, I thought I saw a flash of light in the stands._ Pikachu? ASH?!_ I rubbed my eyes. It was gone. _Must be me, wanting to see him in pain._ _Ok, that was a little much, but seriously, why can he not do things like a normal being?!_

"Now, the semi-final battles will be decided!" The announcer brought my attention to the screen.

_Wonder who I'm going up against…_

"The first battle will be Dawn and Zoey!"

_Well, it was going to happen eventually_. I was ready though. I walked over to my side of the stage, after meeting in the middle. Zoey gave me a thumbs up and I responded with a smile and wave._ I'm going to end him._

I had to choose my Pokémon carefully; I knew that Zoey was a tough opponent. I flashed back to our last battle. _She probably thinks I'm the same as back then, so she's going to do the same combos as back then too._

"Togekiss, Buneary, spotlight!" I called, performing a slight twist as I threw the balls up.

"Gallade, Leafeon, you're up!" Zoey yelled out with enthusiasm.

Zoey started with extreme precision. She had both Gallade and Leafeon use Magical Leaf, to score an early hit. My score dropped a little bit. I knew I would recover.

"Buneary! Create a small Ice Sculpture in the middle of the arena!" Buneary executed, forming a statue of Pikachu in the arena._ She's got to be mad._ She jumped, and set down hard on the sculpture._ Yup, mad._ She knew what happened next.

"Now, Togekiss, use Aura Sphere to shoot shards of ice at the opponents!"

Togekiss shot the sculpture, shattering into razor fine shards of ice. Buneary kicked off the shattering ice and landed gracefully next to Togekiss. Zoey's score dropped, becoming only a fraction lower than mine.

When I was looking up at the score I could have sworn I saw Ash. _There? Maybe? _I looked closely, but, I couldn't find him. I looked back to the field. I looked just in time too. I saw that Zoey told Leafeon use Energy Ball and Gallade to power it up by hitting it with a Psycho Cut. It was heading straight towards Buneary.

"Buneary, use Bounce and land on Togekiss!"

Buneary jumped about a half a second before the Energy Ball hit the ground where she had been standing. That was too close for comfort. _Come_ _on Dawn, you can't get distracted like that._

"Togekiss! Counter with Sky Attack! Buneary, charge up a Dizzy Punch!"

As Togekiss flew closer to Gallade, Zoey tried to use a Signal Beam to counter it.

"Buneary! Use Dizzy Punch on the signal beam!" Buneary got off and flew toward Leafeon. As Buneary hit the Signal Beam to create a beautiful flash of color, Togekiss got in close and hit Gallade full force. I had turned what would have been a game over to my score into a large dent to Zoey's score. I looked at the screen as it dropped to a quarter. The buzzer went off. Time was up.

"The winner of the semi-final first battle is Dawn!"

I went and shook hands with Zoey.

"I'm rooting for you Dawn. You did amazing today! You have gotten so much better than last time we battled!"

I gave her a curt nod, thanked her, and left to go to my dressing room. I walked in and saw the flowers my mysterious fan had given me once innocent vase of bouquet churned my anger back up. _It's time to end him. _ I got into my street clothes and decided to go confront Ash.

I got back to the Pokémon Center and asked Nurse Joy if Ash was staying there.

"Why yes Dawn. He asked to have the room next to yours. You haven't talked to him?"

"No. Has he come back yet?"

"Not today. Would you like me to take a message for you?"

'No, it's fine. This kind of message has to be delivered in person. Thank you though."

I waited in my room with the door slightly cracked so I would be able to see him coming. I sat there mulling over what I would say to him.

When he turned down the hallway I waited until he was almost in front of my door. _Perfect, he doesn't see the door open. Of course, why would he._ I slammed the door open and scared the crap out of him.

"Well, hello. Ash."


	8. A Talk Over Dinner

Ash's POV

Well hello. Ash."

"Um … Hi… Dawn…" _OH. DEAR. GOD. She found me. She's right in front of me and I might be dying soon..._

"Ash, can you explain to me this situation you're in?

"Well… I,-"

She grabbed me by the wrist and yanked me into the room, slamming the door behind. I made sure Pikachu was there with me, and turned to face Dawn. Her deep blue eyes had frozen over in hate._ Yup, I messed up…_ There was something else beside the icy stare I was receiving: _happiness maybe? _My main priority was to melt the ice and fix the situation.

"Dawn, I... I wanted to surprise you, a change from the usual. I was going to say hi before the 2nd round, but, I couldn't find your room again." _This is not going well at all. _

"Mmmmhhhhmmm. Right." She retorted, in a voice laced with snide intonation.

_Is what I did that bad to deserve this? Here goes nothing I guess. _"Hey, did I mention that I was the one that got you the necklace, card, and flowers?"

She was unmoved, staying silent with her arms crossed, boring into my soul with her Ice Beam of a stare. Meloetta and Pikachu were sitting by the door, staring at the floor._ So they feel it too… I really did mess up…_ Then, a Pokeball on Dawn's desk went off, releasing one of her Pokémon._ Uh oh, Pikachu's in trouble._ I turn my head back to Pikachu and mouth "Good Luck." He realized what was happening and bolted out the window with, "PIKKAA PIKA PPPIIIKKA!" Buneary followed in suit right behind him.

_He's not gonna be getting it as I am._

"Dawn, please. I didn't want you to be off your game during the contests."

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I'm hurt that you didn't have any communication with me since my last contest! You had me worried! And then here you appear, fine and ok, worried about me? Oh, and your challenging Cynthia again? Something else you weren't planning on telling me about? And what makes YOU think that I'll be off because of YOU? You were at my other contests weren't you? Can't you trust me to do really good?"

I was down and out for the count. She was mad and I didn't have a recover. We sat in the silence of tension. The light flickered and something sparkled on her dresser.

"You wore the necklace I gave you yesterday. It looks good on you."_ Waaaaay to go Ash, genius._

"I didn't know that it was you who sent that."

"Dawn, I am truly sorry. I didn't think I would hurt you this bad. I really didn't."

It was too late. The ice melted into a flood of tears. She rushed past me and left, with tears and a look of disgust mixed with sadness on her face. I looked to Meloetta.

"You are going to need to help me with this one." She flew up to my head and perched, telling me to get going.

I went out in the night to follow Dawn. She was gone, but I knew where she was going. I picked up a boxed dinner and some drinks from the street vendors and ran out there.

Dawn's POV

I couldn't believe him. _Why didn't he tell me? _I was really upset. I couldn't believe he would just leave me to think that he forgot or he had disappeared. Buried in me though, I was happy he was here, in person. He gave me the necklace and all of the presents, too. I just wish he had told me right there.

I found the rock in the clearing I had come to last time something like this happened. I sat with my back against rock crying softly. I sat there for about 20 minutes when I heard footsteps behind me. Wiping my eyes of the tears, I prepared to face whoever it was. _It's Ash. Who else knows about this?_

I heard the singing next. Meloetta was playing a soft tune, fitting the light breeze and the moon shining on the clearing. My frustration had subsided, the tune was so gentle. I almost wanted to forgive Ash right there. Almost.

"Hey Dawn." He said, walking out of the forest.

"Hi."

"I brought you dinner. I wanted to talk to you."

I scooted to the other side of the rock, away from him and looked out to the woods.

"I got you lemonade." He set it next to me and sat on opposite side of the rock.

I couldn't turn down lemonade. It was my favorite drink. I grabbed the cup and took a sip from the straw.

"It isn't Brock's cooking, but, it is supposed to be pretty good." He slid the dinner over to me.

I could still hear Meloetta singing. Ash had thought of a lot. I sat quietly and ate my dinner. He hadn't gotten one for himself. _That's extremely weird._

"Dawn, I am extremely sorry about not telling you."

I took a sip from my lemonade and continued to eat.

"I see you're still stubborn."

I set my food down. "What did you say?"

"Finally, Dawn please forgive me for all of this."

"Why should I?"

No response. _Am I being too harsh?_

"I got you something." He walked around the rock and sat down next to me. He pulled out a square box and handed it to me.

"What is it?"

"Open it."

I opened the box and saw a familiar object. It was a pokeball seal. It had a question mark on it. I looked at Ash. He was smiling at me, sipping his lemonade. It was probably the most thoughtful thing that he could have done at this point. I looked at him in full for the first time. He was wearing the black vest with a yellow stripe and his hat with the blue half-pokeball on it. It reminded me of all the adventures, good times and bad that we had gone through.

"Dawn, I want to tell you something."

At first, I thought he was going to say he loved me, considering the mood. I really wasn't ready to hear that. I was still a little mad at him to take anything he said to heart.

"I'm ending my journey."

I dropped my lemonade.

Ash's POV

I could tell Dawn wasn't very happy before, now she really wasn't. It was like she wanted to slap me. Hard.

"Ash! Why?! You loved traveling! Facing new challenges and helping everyone!" She said

"I am just tired of it. I have been traveling so long, with little reward. I just want to settle down."

"I thought you wanted to be a Pokemon master?! Why when you haven't gotten there yet?!"

I ignored that, it was getting late. We needed to go back to the Poké-center. I got up and Dawn followed, staring into my eyes, she was concerned.

"You need to get some sleep. Tomorrow you and Kenny go head to head for the title."

"What? Kenny won? I didn't even think about that. I had stormed off without even thinking about Kenny's battle." She said

"Well anyways you need to get some rest."

"Ok, let's go back."

We walked back to the Pokémon center with Meleotta playing a different tune this time. I was happy that I had made it up to her. I walked her to her room, and said good night. _I hope she uses my seal tomorrow._

Attachment: Reflection

Pikachu's POV

I had to leave. Fast. She would be coming at me with an Ice beam. _Ash, why did you not think this through? _I heard something hit the floor as I was leaving the window.

"Buneary, I can explain!"

A frozen bolt rocketed past my tail. _Oh joy, it's really cold this time._

"Why didn't I know you were coming?!"

"It's not my fault! Ash wanted to stay incognito!"

"You couldn't have snuck away and visited?!"

Then a beam of ice caught my tail, weighing it down, and also slowing me. I really didn't want to go through this. I can't run from a woman scorned, she will hunt me down. Or get lost and I have to go find her, and then she freezes me._ Wait, she can't do face to face with me when I'm nice right?_ Time to not die._ Heh, Ash probably is, Dawn looked pissed._ I was concerned aside from the joking. Ash is going through a crisis, and he goofed up on the whole "human to human connection thing." _He still hasn't gotten the hang of that. _Hopefully he's patched that up by now.

I had my own "make-up" to do; I had almost done the same thing as Ash. I climbed the Poke-Mart and hid myself in the signage. I planned on waiting until she came up and looked calm. Then I would talk to her and try to sort this out. The lighting of the sign and proximity of the woods allows some of the woods song to be heard._ Going to melt her heart right here, and no more freeze._

"Pikachu, come out, I just want to talk."

"You still want to freeze me?"

"Noooo", trying to hide the rising embarrassment and real intentions. The setting was getting to her. Perfect.

She turned away, and I came out and walked within two feet of her. She turned back around, and fired Ice beam again, trying to hit me. I used my reflexes to avoid it, and finished close to her. _Endgame time._

I looked her in the eye, grabbed her hands and spoke.

"Ash is ending his journey."

Between the news and my sudden advance moves, she passed out.

Buneary's POV

"Whaaa… where am I?"

"Roof, Pokemart, next to me"

_What?_ Pulled my head up and realized Pikachu had let put my head on his shoulder after I passed out._ GAAHHH, HE'S RIGHT HERE AND I WAS SLEEPING ON HIM._ I buried my face in my fur, embarrassed. Then I remembered what made me go over. Pikachu said Ash was ending his Journey.

"Is it true?" I asked for confirmation.

"Yeah. He's been driven into a corner with no visible way out."

"What exactly happened?"

"I told you"

"I mean when he decided."

"Oh, he was listening to Cilan and Iris go back and forth in their lovey-dovey banter. Then he snapped, and ran away from them."

"Oh"

I wanted to put my head back on his shoulder, and sleep.

"Does this mean you're going home?" _ Please say no._

"Probably. Ash hasn't told me any of the details. I know he really wanted to see Dawn first."

My heart gave out. I started to tear up.

"You can put your head back down, it's fine."

We sat there, sitting in the crook of the "e", staring into the street and the night sky. It was nice. All the memories from our Journey were coming back to me._ And here I am, just a small part of Pikachu's memories._ He had to be sad. His trainer decided they were done, not even talking to him.

"Hey, Pika-"

"Let's head back, you need to rest, contest tomorrow remember?"

I had forgotten. _But I don't want to move…_

We hopped down; his tail didn't have the ice on it anymore. I felt a little bad about that. We got back to the center, and said good night to each other._ I don't want him to leave again… _


	9. The Finals: Kenny

Dawn's POV

I sat in my dressing room. I was nervous. Scratch that, I was beyond nervous. I would be facing Kenny in the Finals.

Ash sat in the chair on the other side of the room, staring at the food in his hand. He looked quite calm and content. It was almost as if he had no cares about the battle with Cynthia. I looked over to him and he looked at me with a reassuring expression.

"Dawn, there's nothing to worry about," he said, "You'll do great."

"Thanks, Ash. It's just that Kenny is a really tough competitor."

"Don't worry." He smiled again, that kind of calmed me down.

I looked over to Buneary and Pikachu. It was almost as if they were having the same conversation. Pikachu was trying to console Buneary. I almost broke out in tears, it was sooo cute.

Ash was trying to be really nice. He got up and put his hands on my bare shoulders. His hands were nice and strong. I felt slightly better.

"It is almost time for you to go." Ash said, pointing the clock on the wall.

He gave me a quick hug, leaving with Pikachu behind to follow him out of the room. I looked over to Buneary. She looked set and ready. _Pikachu must be good at pep talks._ I had already decided to use Piplup and Buneary. I returned Buneary to her pokeball. I put the seal that Ash had given me on it.

I walked out of my dressing room and down the hall. I could hear the cheers of the crowd and saw Ash leaning on the hallway leading to the arena. As I walked down the hall, I saw him lift up his hand above his head. I walked down the hall and gave him a high-five. _Alright, show time Dawn._

As I heard the announcer say my name, I walked out on the stage to shake hands. Adrenaline was pumping through my veins. I couldn't wait. I was ready for my battle with Kenny now. I walked to my side of the arena, almost trembling.

Kenny brought out Empoleon and Breloom. _This is going to be a tough match._

"Buneary! Piplup! Spotlight!" I said with performing a twirl. I caught a glimpse of Ash. That made my heart race. _I can see him so easily now, how couldn't I find him before?_

I looked at what the seal he gave me would do to Buneary's entrance. As I looked up I saw a heart of what looked like little glass shards appear around the two. _Ash…It's beautiful!_ I caught my focus and the timer started clicking away.

Kenny started the fight by having his Breloom use Energy Ball and Empoleon used a Hydro Cannon to propel the Energy Ball.

"Buneary, use Bounce! Piplup! Use Drill Peck to break the ball!" As Buneary bounced to avoid the attack, Piplup used one foot to start the Drill Peck. The Drill Peck broke the Energy Ball and the Hydro Cannon was sent in all directions, sending rainbows everywhere.

I saw this as the perfect opportunity to get some bonus points.

"Buneary, use Ice Beam on the water." As Buneary did as I said I started thinking about Ash again.

_He was quite a good old fashioned lover boy_. _What?! Did I just think of that?!_ My face flushed with heat. _ Ohhh, I'm embarrassed by my own thoughts. _I thought of Ash as a friend not as a crush. Well… not anymore anyways.

"Hey Dawn!"

I looked up to see Kenny waving at me with a smile. I looked at the field. His Empoleon was coming at Piplup with a Metal Claw and Breloom surging forward toward Buneary with a Mach Punch. _Oh no. My day-dreaming was going to cost me._

"Buneary, counter with a Dizzy Punch, quick!" I saw Piplup get hit out of the corner of my eye. _No! I wasn't quick enough to stop it. I can't let that happen again. _Buneary countered the Mach Punch pretty well._ Phew, that could have gone worse._

I set myself again. I was not going to let my thoughts wander. I was going to be focused the last 2 minutes of this battle. Unfortunately, I was down quite a bit with that last spurt, and had some catching up to do.

"Alright, here goes, Piplup, Whirlpool! Buneary! Freeze Whirlpool with Ice Beam! Piplup! Follow up the freeze with Drill Peck to break Whirlpool! Finally, Buneary hit each piece with Dizzy Punch!" _ I hope they caught all that._ They did, making a raging whirlpool that froze into the ammo for a Buneary powered machine gun.

As all this was going on, I watched the clock and Kenny's score slowly fall as he flailed around trying to counter some of the attacks. No luck, the ice shards were coming in too fast. I watched as the timer hit 10 seconds. Kenny's score was about even with my score. I don't know what will happen._ No, what do I do?!_

I was struck with fear and anxiety when the buzzer went off. _Did I win? Or lose?_ I did not want to go home empty-handed. My heart dropped into my feet. I looked to the board and saw that Kenny's score was just a little bit smaller than mine. Relief washed over me. _I feel faint_. Spots began to eat at my vision.

"Dawn!" I heard someone yell. Down I went, hitting the grasp of someone, not the ground. _Thaaan-_ I was gone.

⃝⃝⃝

I came to not too long after. I looked up to see Ash smiling down at me, then mouthed,_ congrats Dawn._ He helped me to my feet. I leaned on him to keep myself steady.I was so glad he was there for me.

"The winner is Dawn!" The announcer said after making sure I was alright.

I was sooo happy. Ash helped me up to the pedestal. I looked over to Kenny. Instead of looking happy for me, he looked a little upset. I had some suspicions, but, I had no intent to follow my curiosity. I held the ribbon cup up to the crowd and Piplup and Buneary joined me. Ash stood next to the pedestal to make sure I was ok and wouldn't fall again.

After the congratulations were over, Ash and I went back to my dressing room. I had him wait outside while I got changed. I changed into my cheerleading outfit and walked out. He turned to me, and his gaze immediately lit up.

"Let's go Ash Ketchum. It's your turn to battle." My turn to be there for him.


	10. The Battle of The Century

**Ash's POV**

When Dawn stepped out of her dressing room, I almost shrieked in joy. She was wearing her cheerleading outfit. I was extremely happy. _THE OUTFIT!_

We walked out into the arena. I walked out onto the main stage. Dawn stayed on the sideline, ready for cheer. Pikachu, as always, was at my side as always. Cynthia was waiting on her side of the arena. This was going to be an intense battle.

Cynthia started the battle by sending out her Glaceon. I threw out Charizard. _Showtime._

"Hey Ash!" Cynthia called to me, "I hope you aren't thinking about countering my Pokémon with one that is stronger by type."

"Ha! I have had Charizard for quite some time, I he won't lose!" I replied

"Ok, I will start this battle, Glaceon use Ice Beam!"

Icy flow was streaming toward Charizard.

"Charizard, use Flamethrower!"

Charizard let the flames loose towards Glaceon, dissipating the flow. Unfortunately Glaceon was too fast, dodging the attack and setting herself for the next attack.

"Glaceon, Quick Attack." Glaceon's speed was really high. Glaceon came at Charizard at tremendous speed.

"Charizard, lift yourself to avoid the attack." he went two feet off the ground. "Now use Iron Tail!"

It was too late. Glaceon bounded upward, slamming into Charizard full force. Charizard steadied himself and lifted himself higher, rage burning in his eyes. Charizard went to attack Glaceon.

"Glaceon, Ice Beam."

Charizard was too close to avoid the attack. He crystalized in a block of glass and fell to the ground. The ice shattered on impact. KO. I clenched my teeth._ Alright, I'll come back._

"Charizard is unable to battle, Glaceon is the winner." The referee said.

"Thanks Charizard." I returned Charizard and decided that I needed a quick Pokémon. Before let my next out, Cynthia called out to me.

"I thought you said he won't lose?" _That was rude. Alright._ My temper shot up. _No Ash, you can't lose your cool._

I let my next ball fly, "Staraptor, come on out!"

Staraptor stood tall, ready to battle.

"Staraptor, Aerial Ace!" Staraptor burst into the sky and started the attack. The attack was fast. Unfortunately Glaceon was faster. An idea came to me. "Staraptor keep it up."

I looked over to see Dawn cheering and it gave me some hope._ No drooling. Battle time. Not gawking time._ I looked back to the battle; Staraptor getting closer and closer to hitting Glaceon. When he got within inches of Glaceon it was time to reveal my ace.

"Now, Close Combat!" It was a direct hit; Staraptor was in beat down mode. I saw Glaceon getting hit over and over again. Eventually, Glaceon was down.

"Glaceon is unable to battle, Staraptor is the winner."

_Only five more to go._ _Who would she use next?_

"Great job Glaceon, return. Now, go Milotic!"

_A water type. I could change to Torterra, but I think I can get more out of Staraptor._

"Milotic, start off with an Iron Tail." Staraptor easily dodged it and got behind Milotic. "Now, use Twister."

_I should have seen that coming._ Staraptor got trapped in the twister. I was a little scared. _Just remember, Dawn is there cheering for you, in the outfit. No drooling!_ I snapped into focus and decided to go fast.

"Staraptor, use Brave Bird." I saw a flash of Staraptor as he went to attack Milotic. I hoped that it would hit, but there was no way I could tell from the dark swirl of the twister.

"Milotic, use Brine to calm down the storm." What I saw stopped me cold. Staraptor was on the ground _Whaaa... Wha... What?_

"Staraptor is unable to battle, Milotic is the winner."

"Good job. Go Glalie." _Please, Glalie, take it home._

"Interesting choice, I can't wait to see what you have in store."

"Glalie, start off with an Icy Wind."_ Why can't I fire up? It's so early into the battle and I'm losing it._

As Glalie attacked, I saw Milotic move somewhere that I didn't want it to. Milotic was underneath Glalie.

"Milotic, use Tackle." The move was not very strong, but, from underneath and being at such close range, the attack was really powerful. "Now, use Iron Tail."

Glalie was unstable and was hit with full force and went down. I was getting scared now. Glalie went down._ Not even a hit. No..._

"Glalie is unable to battle, Milotic is the winner."

"Glalie return, you did what you could. Go Torterra." He was my fourth Pokémon.

"Torterra, Leaf Storm." The attack was quick and actually hit Milotic, I jumped a bit inside. Milotic was looking at its end, perfect time to attack. "Finish it off with an Energy Ball!"

It was a direct hit. I felt a wave of relief. I looked to Dawn. She was cheering really loud. She gave me a quick wink. I noticed that Buneary had come out of her Pokeball and started cheering as well._ Pikachu would be happy._

"Milotic is unable to battle, the winner is Torterra!"

"Thanks Milotic." Cynthia returned her Pokémon. "Now Garchomp, come on out."

I knew that she had Garchomp. I had planned to use Glalie. _Shoot._ Glalie was already knocked out. I remained with Torterra. _I've been in worse._ Have I?

"Torterra, use Rock Climb to get close to Garchomp." I was going to do something extremely stupid. I think everybody knew it. Hail Mary move.

As Torterra got closer and closer, I got more and more nervous. When Torterra was right next to Garchomp, I executed my attack._ Here goes nothing._

"Torterra, Energy Ball!" Cynthia was shocked. The attack landed a hit at point blank range and made a large explosion.

Torterra was knocked back. Garchomp looked as if nothing really happened.

"Alright Ash, that wasn't even serious. I intend to have a serious battle, and I intend to beat you." Cynthia said. "Garchomp, use Draco Meteor."

"Torterra use synthesis." As Torterra was healing Garchomp charged up Draco Meteor. When she was about to release the attack I had Torterra use Leaf Storm. I had hoped the Leaf Storm would make it harder for Garchomp to hit Torterra.

"Release it Garchomp!" I was wrong, very wrong.

Garchomp's attack was a direct hit. Torterra went down real quick.

"Torterra is unable to battle, Garchomp is the winner."

"Nicely done," I returned Torterra, "go Buizel."

_Oh man_. I was going down and going down fast. I looked over to Dawn. She looked concerned. She bit her lip, and continued to cheer her heart out.

"Buizel, Aqua Jet." I knew that there wasn't much I could do. Buizel was nowhere near strong enough to take down Garchomp.

Garchomp took the direct hit. It didn't faze her at all, only batting an eye. She grabbed Buizel and I knew I was done. _I'm done. _My fire had disappeared.

"Garchomp, Brick Break End this." I stood there. I didn't tell Buizel to try to counter it._ What can I do... nothing._

Buizel fell to the ground. I heard the MC make the horrifying statement.

"Buizel is unable to battle, Garchomp is the winner."

I was left with just Pikachu. I couldn't believe how it was all happening. My last battle would be a loss.

I knelt down to Pikachu and whispered to him," Hey buddy, this is it. You and I have been in it from the start. We grew up together, living with each other for so long" A tear began to roll down my eye. "Now, we finish our Journey, right here, right now. Showtime." He saw the sadness, I knew it. He nudged me, telling me it was time. For what was the last, I called the words:

"Pikachu! I choose you!"

"Down to your last are you Ash?"

"Pikachu, use Electroball." Pikachu did as he was told. Garchomp still looked unfazed. I was done for. Pikachu seemed as though he knew it as well.

"Garchomp finish this battle with a Dragon Rush."

I watched as Garchomp got closer. I tried to tell Pikachu to dodge. It was to no avail the words couldn't muster. Garchomp barreled through Pikachu. I ran to get him.

"Pikachu is unable to battle, the winner is Garchomp. The winner of this match is Cynthia."

I fell to the ground with Pikachu in my arms. I saw the pain from the attack in his eyes. We had been here before, countless times. But this was the most surreal. I wanted disappear.

"You tried." Cynthia stood before me, hand extended. I shook it, head down and silent. "No remarks?" I got up, said thanks, and walked away with my friend in my arms.

I went back to the Pokémon center. I dropped off my team to nurse Joy.

"Are you alright Ash? You don't look too good." I kept walking. I couldn't talk.

I fell asleep in a fit of anger and depression. I had lost. It was all over. My journey to be a master was done. The very dream I had since I was 10, was over.


	11. A Talk and A Challenge

**Preface: I don't usually talk directly to the audience but I have a small announcement. If you started reading the story any time before chapter 10 then I ask that you go back and reread chapter 7. I realized that I had made a mistake when uploading the documents and uploaded the unedited version. I ask that you reread it because there are quite a few changes.**

**Ash: Get on with the damn story!**

**Me: Hey, I'm getting to that. Don't you want people to know what really happened?**

**Dawn: Yeah Ash calm down. We will get to your favorite part when we get there.**

**Ash: But that will be in like forever.**

**Dawn: Then have this to hold you over. *kisses Ash***

**Ash: Alright I'm ok**

**Me: You guys were made for each other. Now on with the fanfic!**

I woke up with Pikachu nestled into my side. I sat up, and stared into my hands. My eyes hurt from crying last night. My head dropped until my neck hurt. I got out of bed to go get some breakfast. _I don't want anyone to see me like this. Especially not Dawn._

I walked to the door, turning the handle and pushing out. **Thud. **___What? _ The door seemed to move faster after, something was outside. I saw Dawn lying on the floor asleep. _Well, someone, not something. _ She was wearing the outfit. _Oh man…She looks so cute in that outfit. Control yourself Ash, not like you did anything to deserve the occasion._

I looked down at her sleeping face; my face went a light shade of red. Then she sat up, yawning and stretching. She looked at me; my face skipped a few shades and went right to full on red.

"Good morning Sleeping Beauty." I greeted her, trying to fight the nervous energy in me.

"How long have you been staring?" She asked rubbing her eyes.

"Only a few seconds, I just got up myself." She tried getting up, but her attempts ending in her laying back down. "Let me help you up." She stuck her hands out and I lifted her onto her feet. She still wasn't quite awake, falling into me. If I hadn't already been red, I was now. I felt a large amount of heat welling in my face.

"Thanks." she said, peeling off of me.

"Why were you outside my door just now?"

"I came to find you. You looked pretty upset walking out of the area last night."

"Yeah well it was my last battle. I wanted it to be a win."

"I can understand that part Ash, but, I'm still confused why it is your last battle."

"I told you two nights ago night. I don't feel like traveling and battling anymore."

"Come on Ash, it has been your dream to be the very best, you said so in the first few days I met you... You can't just stop now."

"I just can't handle it anymore. After Cilan and Iris started going out, I couldn't travel with them anymore. They were driving me crazy and hindering me. I feel like I haven't gotten anywhere in competitions. It's so frustrating, knowing I've been doing this for years and I haven't won a single title..."

"But Ash! Look at everything else you've done! Does a title matter that much when -"

"Can we talk about this over breakfast?" I had to cut her off. It was getting painful to respond. I was done. I didn't want to think about my decision.

"Fine. Sure." She said in a huff. "Let's go", she said while rubbing her eyes

We walked downstairs after changing and went out to pick up breakfast. We grabbed a meal from one of the temp food tents. Everyone was going to pack up tomorrow since the Grand Festival was over.

We found a table in the shade and started eating. I was starving; I hadn't eaten since lunch yesterday.

"So, you waited outside my door last night?" I asked Dawn.

"Well, you were extremely upset last night and I wanted to try and cheer you up. You don't usually get this upset over a loss."

My head dipped. I clenched my fork, knuckles turning white. I couldn't reply. I thought I bought myself time to work up the strength to speak again about it all. I was wrong. I pulled my head up and looked into her eyes.

She was staring at me with those sapphire eyes. She was biting her lip, concern brimming throughout. _She is worried about me. At least there is something to hold on to._

I reached for my drink with my other hand, it had disappeared. Actually, the whole table disappeared. _WHATTTT?! _In the place of the table was a young man, he looked a bit older than me. He handed me my drink, I took it into my hand, still in disbelief. This young man had just fallen from the sky and destroyed the table. He didn't even look hurt.

"Are you Ash Ketchum?" He asked me.

"Ye... Y-y-y Yes. Who is asking?" I replied.

"My name is Tyler James. I represent the Elite Company."

"The what?"

"The Elite Company. They are the strongest trainers, gathered from across the globe, and nestled into one area. It's kind of like a League, without the map and townies."

"And why are you telling me this?"

"The Elite Company has chosen you. They pick one trainer every year to compete for the title and prestige belonging to company-men. Winning means you place as the strongest trainer in the globe. Here's a card that has a formal invitation and the coordinates to the first of the Company."

He handed me the card and walked off.

I turned over the envelope and Inscribed on the letter was a note:

_Yes, Cynthia was selected. She competed a few years ago. She lost at number 4 and left. Best Wishes, T.D.J_

I looked down at it and saw the coordinates, and the table remnants_. _Then I went to throw the card out._ Like I could win that. I couldn't beat Cynthia, let alone trainers stronger than her. _

"Wait, Ash! You aren't just going to throw out this invitation, are you?!" Dawn grabbed my wrist before I could get to the trash can.

"Why shouldn't I?"

"This could help you rekindle your dream to be a master!"

"But, I don't want to travel and struggle anymore."

"Then do it for your dream, which can't act alone. Do it for your Pokémon. They want another chance to make things right."

Those words made me stop and think. _They deserve it... _

"Ok, fine. I'll make the journey and take them on. But, only if you come with me."

She smiled, "It's a deal." _ Swweeeetttt. _I had a travelling partner, and it was familiar face and the love of my life._ And outfit. Stop it Ash, save it for later._ We turned back to our table, or what was left of it. We looked at each other with the "what do we do" look, and began to back away. That was when we heard someone calling to us.

"Dee-Dee!" It was Kenny._ Fan-fucking-tastic._

"Oh dear Arceus. It's Kenny again." Dawn said as she buried her face in hands. "Ever since you left he has been trying to make me go out with him."

"Dawn," he had finally approached us, "why are you hanging out with this loser?"

"Kenny, leave me alone." Dawn said from her hands, slightly muffled.

"Come on Dawn, I got us reservations to that new restaurant in Pastoria. Let's go!"

"I believe that she asked you to leave her alone." I said slowly getting up. "So leave before she gets upset."

"O-hhhhh. Sooo Scarryy. What are you gonna do? Battle me? Because it looked like you lost your battle with Cynthia yesterday." _Low blow. _He was really starting to piss me off.

Thankfully Dawn cut in before. "Kenny, leave us alone. Ever since I've known you, you have been a complete jerk."

This hit him hard. He looked infuriated.

"Fine! If you wanna hang out with this loser, go right ahead!" He stormed off. I saw some tears forming in his eyes as he spun around. Obviously he really liked Dawn.

I looked over to Dawn who was starting to cry.

"Hey, don't let him bother you. We will leave for the Elite Company tomorrow. How does that sound?" I asked.

"Thank you." She said through the tears. I wiped a couple away, and smiled, trying to reassure her.

We went back to the Pokémon Center and stayed there most of the day. Pikachu and Buneary seemed to be doing better and Piplup was looking at Meloetta with hearts in his eyes. It almost made me want to get Oshawott to watch them fight over her. Dawn and I were making preparations for our new adventure together.

I can't wait to go to face the EC, especially with Dawn by my side.


	12. A Ride to the EC

**Me: Man I love summers. It gives me so much time to write this so you guys can stay updated. Thank you for the support. I love reading the reviews you guys give me and I am thankful of the following the story has gotten. Don't forget to review. Oh yeah, I do not own Pokémon, but if I did this story would happen in the show.**

**Ash: Stop stalling man. They know all this stuff already. Just get on with the fanfic.**

**Me: Alright, I will continue the story. Where were we now?**

**Dawn: I believe that it was me and Ash traveling to face the first of the EC.**

**Me: Right! Now on with the fanfic!**

**Dawn's POV**

"Ash, can we please stop for the night? I'm sooo tired..."

"But the card says that the first of the EC is just over this mountain!"

"Ash, it's getting late. Can we please set up camp?"

"Fine, we can set up camp. I will start cooking if you put up the tent."

I started setting up the tent while Ash worked on dinner. When I finished the stakes on the tent, I started smelling the meal. The aroma made me drool a bit; we hadn't eaten in a while.

"Hey Ash, what are you cooking?!" I yelled over to him.

"Just something I found in this cookbook!"

I walked over to the table where he was preparing the meal. I saw the book he was working with. It was a faded brown notebook. _Wait. _ I realized that it was one of Brock's cookbooks. _Where had he gotten one of Brock's cookbooks?_ I had no idea that Ash could cook though. _It was really sweet of him to do this._ There we go another one of those weird thoughts. I thought I was through with this when he left me and went to Unova.

"Hey, did you hear me?" He waved his hand in front of my face.

"What?" I snapped back to reality. "Did you say something?"

"Food is ready. Would you like some?"

"Absolutely, I'm so hungry!"

We sat and ate in silence, we were tired from the day of mountain hiking we had done. The day after Ash had gotten the Invitation we left, taking a "boat" that was prearranged for us. The company must be rich, because what they considered a "boat' was a mega yacht. It took us two days by the yacht to reach the region. We arrived yesterday in a misty morning. We had no idea how to get to the coordinates, given we had no map. So we stumbled around the dock for a while, then finding an old shack. Opening it up, we found a map of the region, but, it was only marked with coordinate markings on the sides. The past two days were filled with mountain hiking, never downhill. I drifted off into sleep around 11, Ash was already asleep.

⃝⃝⃝

I awoke with a jolt, I wasn't exactly sure why. I looked around to find the tent empty.

"Dawn, hurry up!" I heard Ash yell from outside. "We don't have all day!"

"I'm coming. I just have to finish my hair."_ where does he get his energy from..._

"Ok, just hurry up, I have breakfast ready! We need to get going so we can meet the first of the Elite Company."

I did my hair like I do every morning, finishing with putting on my hat and opening the tent door. I ate breakfast while Ash packed up the tent. When we were all set to leave, Ash took the lead Pikachu sitting on his head. They were both very eager. It was weird because just the other day he was done with traveling, and Pikachu seemed a bit disheartened as well.

At lunchtime we had hit the top of the mountain. I looked down to see a lone building that stood out on a shale plateau.

"There...it... is." Ash said between bites of his sandwich.

"Are you ready?" I asked him

"I don't know. I haven't been given any information on this trainer. Not even his name."

"Well if we want to get there before sunset we need to get going." the gorge and path back up would take us a whole day.

Ash looked over to a pile of large rocks that sat on the peak next to us. He had an idea written all over his face. _Oh great, what now? _I had a feeling I wasn't going to like it.

"Hey Dawn have you ever been sledding?"

"Why is that relevant?"

"Have Buneary use Ice Beam on the side of the mountain."

"I knew I wasn't going to like your idea."

"Please, it will be a lot of fun."

"But there's a gorge right there! WE COULD DIE!"

"Dawn, trust me. Have we died on my other ideas before?"

"Alright," I grabbed Buneary's Pokeball and brought her out. "Buneary, use Ice Beam on the side of the mountain!"

Buneary did so while Ash grabbed a long thin rock and balanced it at the top of the mountain. We all piled on the "sled" and started the descent. I sat in front with Buneary and Pikachu on my lap. They seemed to be getting along quite well. _Pokémon mimic their trainers' feelings._ That thought I let slide. Ash sat in back looked focused on what was ahead.

I saw the plateau creeping closer and closer, along with the gorge. I had Buneary create a smooth jump, off the mountain base. We flew over the gorge, seeing what was below. I started to panic. _Ohgodohgodohgod. _Then I felt warm hands on my shoulders. Though he said nothing, his hands said to "relax, I wouldn't let us die." then we were onto the plateau, solid ground. We skidded to a halt right before the door to the building.

"REMIND ME NEVER TO LISTEN TO YOUR IDEAS EVER AGAIN" I was a bit mad at that death defying sled stunt.

"We made it didn't we? And in record time too." He remarked with a sheepish grin. I let him live, after all, we did make it.

Above the door sat a symbol. I hadn't seen it before. It was a square that had a small circle in the middle. Above the circle was colored red while below it was pure white. The circle itself was colored blue. There was writing that wrapped around the circle's edge. It said "Elite Company". Under this symbol was a name. The name was Will.

"Well I guess we should introduce ourselves," Ash said as he opened the door.

Lights illuminated the single room of the large building as the doors swung open. A lone trainer stood at the other end of the room, shrouded in darkness. I assumed that it was Will, the leader.

"Well hello there!" he called across in a bellowing voice. "So you are this year's contender! My name is Will Mullinix! I am the first of the Elite Company, you will face here!"

"My name is Ash Ketchum!" Ash stepped forward as he said this. "And I challenge you to a battle!"

_Wow where did that come from?!_ He seemed a bit fired up for this. What was running through his head right now? Was his decision from a slump he couldn't shake until now? OR does he want to hurry up to give in and say "I told you I couldn't do this"? So many questions were running around, but I stopped and listened to the rest of their conversation.

"My my! Eager are we? As the first of the Company accept your challenge, but, I have a duty to explain to you the rules of your challenge and journey ahead of you."

"Well I'm waiting. What are the rules to your fine establishments?"

Will motioned his hand toward a wall. It became illuminated, and the rules were carved into the wall. _ Literally set in stone huh. _The rules were actually quite simple:

You must complete the battles in order, no skipping to other gyms. You will be denied.

Every member of the Elite Company presents a challenge which must be completed.

Once a member of the Elite Company is defeated he must present a card which gives the location and any other needed information for the next member.

Each challenger is allowed to bring along one partner who can help.

"Now Ash, would you like to battle?" Will asked with a sly smile.


	13. The Elite Company: Will

I walked over to the bleachers, standing ready to cheer him on. _Please don't lose._ I saw Ash set himself, eyes ablaze with determination. He had the look back when we travelled in Sinnoh._ Please be the Ash I'm used to._ Again with the thoughts...

"So Ash, I suppose this beautiful girl is your one helper along your journey?" Will asked, gesturing toward me.

"Yeah she is. Dawn is my best friend and I couldn't trust anyone more!"

_What? Is that really how he feels about me?_I looked over to him.

Ash gave me a curt nod, like he knew what I was wondering. _He's sincere, I'm glad I'm travelling with him again._ I looked over to Will and he had a weird expression on his face. It was a mixture of anger and suspicion. That was when I remembered Lyra. She knew that I had feelings for Ash way before I did. It seemed that Will might also think we are a couple, and Ash was keeping it from him.

"Moving on. So Ash, I guess you're wondering about my specialty in Pokémon, right?"

"Yeah, it makes it hard for me to prepare for a battle if I don't at least know what you specialize in. Not to mention I could barely prepare anyway from the hike up here. Do you intend on making that difficult?"

"Well the Elite Company is different than regular gyms. We have double specialties and we are the toughest you'll ever come across, so of course it's going to be a heck of a journey. We want the best. But going back to my specialty, I a rock hard trainer who thinks defense will prevail over all!" _So he is a rock type leader with defense in mind. Wait isn't that-_

"Does that remind you of a certain battle? Say your first Gym battle with you friend Brock?"

"Wait you know about my battle with Brock?"

"No more questions! Let's battle!"

"About time! Buizel, you're first!"

"Golem, rock and roll." _That was corny..._

Well either Will was inexperienced, which I doubted, considering where we were; or he knew how to cover his weaknesses. _Well, we'll find out won't we?_

"Buizel use Aqua Jet!"

"Golem use rollout!"

The two Pokémon collided with such speed and intensity. Water and dust filled the air. I thought for sure they would both get knocked out. Golem was standing unfazed. Buizel on the other hand was hurt.

"Buizel! Keep going! Use Water Gun!"

The attack hit Golem unsuspectingly, soaking him. _That should weaken Golem a lot, that was a direct hit._It was true, Golem was looking worse for wear after that dousing. Ash saw this moment and leaped on it.

"Buizel use SonicBoom! Finish Golem off!" The concussive wave blew across the field, blasting Golem off his feet. **Thud.** Golem was KO'ed.

I wanted to say something, but I was at a loss. He was doing well, why was I not encouraging him? All I did was shuffle my feet a bit and return to watching.

"Impressive combo there. Now, Sceptile."

Ash recalled Buizel back. "Charizard, show them who's who!" Charizard let loose a blaze from his maw when he came out. _ He really wants to fight, wow._

After the Pokémon were switched out the battle continued.

"Sceptile hit Charizard with a Leaf Blade."

"Charizard dodge and attack with Flamethrower!" Ash's voice was growing in passion. _He's coming back to his former self. Yes! I really love the passion he has for battling. _Great, another one of those thoughts.

The attacks kept rolling. Sceptile was hopping from place to place, avoiding Charizard's fiery bellows. Occasionally they would come in close combat, but only to repel each other in a flash. Moves were speeding up as the adrenaline of battle pumped through both Pokémon.

"Now, Sceptile use Slam." _uh oh._ Will was letting the battle speed up so he could shift the pace and get a surprise attack on Ash. Sceptile launched off a rock and charged at Charizard. Sceptile plowed into Charizard, knocking him over and out cold. This would be twice that Charizard would lose to a Pokémon with a type disadvantage._ Awww... Charizard._ That had to be disheartening to him.

"No, Charizard." He returned Charizard and said some quiet words to the Pokémon.

"Alright, let's go with Glalie."

The battle raged on, intensity drenching the air. After some dodges and Ice Beams, Sceptile was down for the count, frozen in ice. Will returned Sceptile and brought out Espeon. I thought back to what Will said. It was something about how he specialized in Defense. It would explain why his Pokémon could take a large amount of hits without very much trouble.

Espeon looked set and ready to take down Ash's Glalie. Will had Espeon use Psychic. While Espeon was holding Glalie in the beam, a metallic shine was coming off of Espeon. It was almost as if the training that Will was doing was changing Espeon's DNA to create a fur coat that could take more hits than usual. I saw Glalie hit the ground and I knew that he was knocked out. Ash brought out Pikachu. I looked at Buneary who winked at him as he entered the battlefield, and then hide away in her fur. _It was soooo cute._

I watched intently as Ash and Pikachu worked in perfect unison and take out Espeon with a perfectly timed volt tackle. _Good move, that metallic coat doesn't do much for electricity._They were so in sync that I saw Ash turn into Pikachu and Pikachu into Ash. It was something that I knew was possible but never saw with my own eyes. They were the perfect team. _Just like Ash and I were before..._ The thoughts were getting stronger and were appearing more often.

I looked onto the field. It was at the worst time. I saw Pikachu get slammed into the ground by Will's Arbok. I started to feel bad. I was there to cheer Ash on, not ponder my thoughts.

Ash sent out Staraptor and went in to attack. Ash had Staraptor use Brave Bird and Will's Arbok slithered out of range with ease.

"Let's go Ash you got this." The first words of encouragement I gave to Ash all battle, and I was quiet about it... I wondered if Ash could tell that something was up.

I tried to stay focused for the rest of the battle. I saw Arbok grab Staraptor and throw him to the ground. Staraptor was out. As Ash returned Staraptor I saw a slight frown crawl across his face.

"Ash, don't give up! You can beat him!" My voice squeaked. _Ohh noooo._That was embarrassing.

He gave me a smile and brought Buizel back out. Buizel still looked a little banged up. I felt scared. I understood his plan. He was expecting more rock types. Buizel used SonicBoom and then used Aqua Jet to put Arbok out of commission.

Will brought out his Metagross. I saw a flash in Ash's eyes. The fire for a challenge in dire times came back. Buizel let a bust of water out from a water gun. Metagross dipped to the floor and hovered in real close to use a Metal Claw. Ash told Buizel to meet it with an Ice punch.

"Ice punch again while he's recovering Buizel!" He connected right between Metagross' eyes, sending away and reeling. Buizel used Aqua Jet, connecting with a dazed Metagross. Buizel was panting, standing over a defeated Metagross.

"It appears I'm down to my last Pokémon," Will said, smiling. _Alright? Why is he smiling when he's losing?_

"Onix come on out." The massive stone golem snake let a roar loose, scaring Buneary into hiding behind my leg.

Buizel tried to go in for another Aqua Jet. _This should weaken him._ I was confident he would go down soon.

Onix took it, not even flinching, and used Slam to take out Buizel._ Orr that happens._No matter how I looked at it, the EC isn't a regular region, they don't play around.

"Alright Torterra, Spotlight!" Ash yelled

_Did Ash just use my line?_ That was really cool. His last Pokémon and he decided to use my line. I started cheering as loud as I could.

"One more Ash! Let's go!"

Torterra used Energy Ball to try and blast Onix away. Onix reared up, retaliating with a Rock Throw. Torterra was buried in a pile of rocks.

"Ash, before I finish your Torterra off, I would like to give you my challenge."

"What?" He was caught off guard by this. _And he forgot the other requirement to win at this gym. Typical Ash._I sighed.

"My challenge is this. I represent the ideal that power or advantage is not always the trump in battle. Your strongest Pokémon is the Pokémon with which you are the closest to, the one you share that stone solid bond with!"

_More rock metaphors? Really?_

"You will notice that I do not own a legendary Pokémon. The rest of the EC do own one or two however. I believe that legendary Pokémon are not the strongest, that they can be beaten by the Pokémon who has been raised by the indomitable will of a trainer to love, caring and raise it. My strongest Pokémon is my dear Onix. I found this Onix injured in a small cave. I healed it, defended it and we left the cave. We became close friends, and I raised it into the Onix you are facing down today. We bonded and learned from each other from years upon years of being together. Now I-"

Before Will could start his sentence the wall on my left exploded, hurling rock chunks across the room. Through the smoke I saw a faint red glow, only for it to disappear moments later. As the dust settled a lone man stood there.

_Wait isn't that-_I stopped mid thought to listen.

"Dang, I am late." He said as he walked through the rather large hole. He was clad in jeans, a black and grey jacket which covered him except for a grey undershirt; and a black winter hat covered the back of his head. He had a peculiar pair of glasses, they were tinted a deep yellow.

"TYLER! This is the THIRD TIME you have smashed a hole in my wall! Why can't you use THE DOOR like a NORMAL PERSON?!"

"I like to make big entrances! Plus your wall is really weak!"

"That doesn't mean you have to let me know every year! Why are you here?! And DO YOU KNOW HOW EXPENSIVE THE ROCK I USE FOR THE WALLS IS?!"

"Aye aye aye, calm down, you know I fix it before the next challenger gets here. But, you should know by now, same thing every year you've been here. I'm here to guide Mr. Ketchum and his lover along the trail," He took the time to look at me and wink. _What a creep! "_From now until he finishes, wherever that may be." I turned in Ash's direction to see how he would reply.

"Woah, hold up. I thought I could only have one helper?" Ash questioned._ Why he didn't say anything about the lover comment?_

"Tyler just likes to be a guide for the challenger," Will said, "He does what he wants. He's the second eldest member of the company. And he's-"

"SHHHH, that's a secret and you know it! I might not rebuild the wall if you continue."

A look of disdain crossed Will's face. "Fine. Do what you want, you always do anyway..."

"Dang Skippy I do!" He stretched, walked into the arena, and sat down. _Is he insane or dumber than Ash?!_ "Has he beaten you yet Will? I want to see more action."

Will was really starting to get irate, with his brow furrowing. "No. he hasn't. I was just about to finish my speech about the challenge."

"Oh your sappy story about how you found that Onix in a cave and raised it like your kid and how legendries aren't the best and blahblahblah."

"Shut up Tyler. Please."

He did so, with a smirk on his face, knowing he had broken Will from trying to deal with him. _I have to travel with this... thing? How is he human? Now I have to deal with two thick headed idiots. Well, at least Ash and I get along..._I almost missed the last part of Will's speech, but I snapped back to listening.

"Now, as I was saying. I will give you one Max Revive and you are to use it on your favorite Pokémon."

Will threw the Max Revive to Ash, and reached in his pocket. Ash looked down at the small object in his hand. Will popped a few handfuls of asprin. _I'd have a headache too, after Tyler's attitude._ Everybody in the gym sat in silence as we waited for Ash to make his decision.


	14. Will's Challenge

**Ash's POV**

I looked down at the medicine that lay in my palm. I was silent, stricken by thought on what to do. Thoughts swirled in my head, like a whirlpool of synaptic pulses. First, Pikachu came to mind. He has traveled with me since the beginning of my journey, both of us learning about the world we live in.

But, did I really have a favorite? I loved all my Pokémon just as much as the next. We all had bonded during our adventures since I had first started. _Just how long have I been travelling?_

I looked over to Dawn. The look in her eyes told me that she understood what was making me take so long. She was concerned that I might make the wrong decision. I turned back to the Max Revive in my hand. I gulped and wiped my forehead. Could I even pick one? Let alone the wrong one?

I could say that Buizel was my favorite because Dawn gave me him to me. I could say Charizard was my favorite because even though he was hard to control at one point, we eventually became great friends. Staraptor was one of the most loyal companions that I had and he helped me a lot through my time with him. I could also choose Glalie. There wasn't much of a reason to choose Glalie but he was still a faithful companion through thick and thin. _They all have been with me since the day we met, and we've stuck it out. _

"What's it going to be Ash?" Will asked.

"Yeah, I want to see some action" Tyler said, tracing his finger in the dirt from boredom.

"Tyler, I'm getting real tired of your shtick."

"I know" He smiled with that devil-bound grin of his. _Is he sane? _He was sitting within ten feet of Will's Onix, which could easily kill him.

I turned back to the decision that would decide my future._ How do I choose this? _Then I thought back to what Will said about time spent in each other, and the will of a trainer to raise a Pokémon. The decision became Crystal clear.

"Pikachu!' My voice cracked out. My decision was made. "I choose you!"

"You are choosing your faithful companion since the start of your journey, the same one that helped you through the flock of Spearows, who kept you going because of his encouragement, the one who you would have lost to Team Rocket if it wasn't for Dawn."

"Yes."

I knelt down and fed the Max Revive to Pikachu. At the same time Will had Onix use Rock Smash to plow through Torterra. I flinched as I saw Torterra fall to the ground. I returned him, thanked him and had Pikachu step onto the field.

I looked over at Dawn. She had a determined look in her eyes.

"Alright buddy, let's end this."

"You know Ash, this seems vaguely familiar." Tyler said from the stands. "All we are missing is the sprinkler system."

Dawn squeaked a bit and jumped. How he got over there so fast I'll never know. I was also surprised about how much they knew about me. They knew what Pikachu and I had been through, the circumstances of my battle with Brock. It scared me a little bit.

"Pikachu, round two! Use Electroball!"

Onix didn't move to avoid the attack, nor did Will call out any evasive maneuvers. It hit him full on._ So he knows that won't be effective, ok. _I gritted my teeth and called the next.

"Now use Iron Tail!"

Yet again there was no dodge or counter from Onix. I watched as Onix reared up, he looked hurt. I was thoroughly confused. _What is going on?_

"Why aren't you putting up a fight?" I asked Will.

No response.

"Do you want to see him in pain?" I was a bit upset that neither of them were doing anything. Then I saw their faces. In the spotlights illumination, they were both smiling._ What?_ It's as if they were saying, "finish it"

"Pikachu, volt tackle! Let's end this!"

Onix was lit up like a Christmas tree, and taken backwards from the hit. _Wow, Pikachu must have been fired up for that. _Dust clouds rose up from Onix hitting the floor._ What if Pikachu is down and out? _I don't know if I could take that kind of shock after putting this much in and then it cleared. Pikachu was sitting down, trying to catch his breath. Onix was KO'ed. I was frozen in shock.

Will walked over to me, clapping. As he reached me he extended his arm and shook my hand.

"The reason is simple. You deserved to win. You chose your favorite Pokémon. You have learned that just because a Pokémon is at a disadvantage because of type doesn't mean that it can't win. You had to relearn that. In your battle with Cynthia, you were worried that you needed a Pokémon that could destroy the opposition because of type advantage. You should have just used your Pokémon freely and trust that they can do the job they need to do." He replied.

"Now Ash, I have three things for you. First is this," he handed me a glass case; "it will house you trophies from each battle. Second, here is a card with the coordinates of your next battle. Lastly, here is your trophy."

I looked at the card and the trophy. The trophy was a little metal feather. It was a bronze color. I put it in the glass case and put it in my bag. I thanked Will and started to head out the door with Dawn. Tyler followed quickly behind.

"So, you two are a cute couple." He said with a chuckle, putting his hands on our shoulders.

"Wait; hold up!" Dawn started; "we are not a couple!" anger set the back tones in her voice.

_Not yet anyways. _I thought to myself. I saw the doubt in Tyler's eyes. I thought back to how Brock always acted around Dawn and I. I knew it was going to be a long trip with Tyler constantly making jokes about us going out.

I couldn't contain it anymore. _I WON!_ After I thought I was done as a trainer and was all sorts of depressed, I did it._ Well... not without her..._ I looked over to Dawn.

"Hey Dawn, can I talk with you?" I asked.

"Sure Ash." She said.

As we walked off I saw Tyler standing near the woods, he winked at me and gave me a thumbs up._ Fan-freaking-tastic._

"What did you want to talk about Ash?"

"Are you feeling ok? You have been acting strange lately."

"Of course, I'm fine." "Ash, there is no need to worry."

I saw something in her eyes that told me otherwise. "That's when I worry the most."

"You sound just like my mother. She says that all the time."

"I promised your mother that I wouldn't let anything happen to you. I just want to make sure you are fine."

"I'm fine Ash. Let's get going. Don't want to keep The Freak or the EC waiting."

"You're right."

With that we walked out to meet Tyler who led us in the direction of the next of the EC. I kept my peripherals on Dawn. _I wish she would just tell me what is wrong. I also wish I had the guts to tell her how I felt._

"Alright, this seems like a good stopping point." Tyler said, after a few hours passed.

We set up camp. There was one tent for Dawn and me and one tent for Tyler. After we ate we went to bed. Dawn fell asleep almost instantly. I couldn't fall asleep. My mind just kept going. I looked at Dawn sleeping like an angel. She was possibly the best person on the face of the Earth. I knew something was up today during my battle. She was spaced out and thinking about other things. Usually, she would be cheering right from the start. I would eventually crack her and get her to tell me.

After a bit more thinking, mostly of Dawn, I finally fell into a deep comfortable sleep.


End file.
